"'America is something that can be easily moved. Moved to the right direction.They won’t get in our way'"
Benjamin Netanyahu

Monday, September 15, 2014

'Turkey, the 'non-ally', is trotting its way out of NATO...'

"... Turkey is trotting its way out of NATO, out of its relationship with the US and ultimately out of its prospects for membership in the EU. There is also the matter of its once good relations with Israel.Erdogan, Davutoglu and all that crew have turned their backs on the old, Kemalist, secular, Turkish Republic and opted instead for what they seem to think is possible in realizing a leadership role in the Sunni Muslim World.

- They have denied the US the use of air base facilities built in Turkey with American money and occupied by US forces for at least 50 years. That denial is a great boon for IS in both Syria and Iraq.

- They have made it clear that the Turkish Army will not participate in operations against IS, al-Nusra or any other Islamist forces in Syria and Iraq. That is a crippling blow to Obama's hopes of an effective Sunni coalition against IS. Turkey has the largest and most effective Muslim state forces in the region.

As people here know, I like Turkey. We lived there a lifetime ago in Izmir on the Aegean Sea. The people were mostly friendly, the food was delicious, the art was exquisite. Life was good and now I can see that the life we lived in Turkey is disappearing as a prospect for Turks, let alone ifranj like us. It is unusual for me to agree with the WSJ editorial board but I must say with sadness that the US (and NATO) should stop thinking of Turkey as an ally. pl "